312 The Rough Riders 



of the officers of the Ninth Cavalry. You ordered 

 a charge, and the regular officers answered that they 

 had no orders to move ahead ; whereupon you said : 

 "Then let us through," and marched forward 

 through the lines, our regiment following. The 

 men of the Ninth and First Cavalry then jumped 

 up and came forward with us. Then you waved 

 your hat and gave the command to charge and we 

 went up the hill. On the top of Kettle Hill my 

 brother, Oliver B. Norton, was shot through the 

 head and in the right wrist. It was just as you 

 started to lead the charge on the San Juan hills 

 ahead of us; we saw that the regiment did not 

 know you had gone and were not following, and 

 my brother said, "For God's sake follow the Col- 

 onel/' and as he rose the bullet went through his 

 head. 



In reference to Mr. Bonsai's account of the Guasi- 

 mas fight, Mr. Richard Harding Davis writes me as 

 follows : 



We had already halted several times to give the 

 men a chance to rest, and when we halted for the 

 last time I thought it was for this same purpose, 

 and began taking photographs of the men of L 

 Troop, who were so near that they asked me to 

 be sure and save them a photograph. Wood had 

 twice disappeared down the trail beyond them and 

 returned. As he came back for the second time I 

 remember that you walked up to him (we were 

 all dismounted then), and saluted and said^ "Colo- 

 nel, Doctor La Motte reports that the pace is too 



